Mandatory Water Restrictions

There's just not enough to go around. Due to the drought conditions, the level of the Kentucky River and reservoirs, and the expected weather forecasts, parts of central Kentucky are now under mandatory water restrictions.

A Water Shortage Partial Alert is now in effect for Kentucky American Water customers in Fayette, Bourbon, Clark, Harrison, Jessamine, Scott and Woodford counties.

In compliance with Ordinance 221-2000 of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, the president of Kentucky American Water asked Mayor Jim Newberry to declare publicly a Water Shortage Partial Alert along with the county judge executives for six of the counties. They agreed.

The counties residents must limit their outdoor watering to between the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on designated days. Those activities include washing vehicles, filling swimming pools and fountains, and watering lawns, bushes and trees.

The designated days to water outside for addresses ending in oddnumbers are: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The designated days to water outside for addresses ending in evennumbers are: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Common ground areas such as entrances to subdivisions without designated addresses should select one of the schedules and stick to it. All customers are asked not to water outside on Mondays.

Tuesday Fayette County's Water Conservation Appeals held an emergency meeting to determine how businesses will be restricted. The board ruled treated water may be used outside buildings for business purposes only to the extent minimally necessary to conduct the business. Other water useage is restricted to the odd/even watering schedule.

Anyone found to be in violation of the restrictions in Fayette County can be fined $250 by the Lexington Police. No word yet on what the other counties will fine for violations.

If you see someone in violation of the restrictions, you are asked to call Lex Call at 425-2255.

Builders are asked to adhere to the same schedule. Anyone who wishes to appeal the restriction is asked to contact the Conservation Appeals Board through Lex Call.

“Although we are committed to providing quality, unrestricted waterservice for our customers, we appreciate our customers’ cooperation inreducing their outdoor water usage during these unusually hot, dryconditions in our region,” said Nick Rowe, president of Kentucky American Water.

Kentucky American Water says they will monitor water levels daily.

Water conservation tips are available on Kentucky American Water’s website at www.kawc.com. Information about Central Kentucky’s water supply problem and the proposed regional project to address it can be found at www.bluegrasswater.com.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.